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Greetings, lovely people. I have to admit some failure to you. I have had a goal since opening this blog. The goal was (at first) to post once a week. I realized that was unrealistic, and vowed to post at least twice a month. Then, once beginning a doctorate program, I thought posting at least once a month was a reasonable plan. For the very first time in 2.5 years, I missed a month. I know it really isn’t that big a deal, but there is a lesson to be learned, and I will share that with you today (among other dazzling, fun thoughts!).

Here are some valuable takeaways from my failure I will share with you:

Goals are dynamic. If you try to make static goals for nutrition, exercise, or life in general, and you etch these in stone, you are nearly guaranteeing failure. Your goals must be realistic, and must be flexible for change in your ever-changing life.

Failure isn’t the end of the road. Failure tempers our success, and makes success taste sweeter. Plus, to put things in perspective, nobody is going to die if I don’t post a blog once a month. Nobody is going to die if you miss the mark on your vegetable goal that day. Find your failures, pick yourself up, and adjust the plan. Stop dwelling and move forward.

Reflect more on WHY you failed, not just the failure itself. Figure out what got in the way, and include in your next goal an action plan to adjust for recognized barriers. If you don’t figure out where the pothole is, you’ll keep spraining your ankle when you fall into it.

Giving yourself slack can be a very slippery slope. When I allowed myself to back off of writing these posts, I think I was danger-close to going on a mental vacation from this endeavor. Keep in mind, I don’t get paid for these blogs; this is truly just for fun. Therefore, I have only intrinsic motivation to keep me focused, and that makes the plan very vulnerable to failure. This is no different than exercise or eating well, as we are only accountable to ourselves. Once we give ourselves a “cheat day” or skip a day of exercise, this little vacation starts to get really, really comfy. Instead, make a realistic plan that factors in your actual life pattern, and stick to it.

Do. Not. Make. Excuses. I have traveled through 4 countries and 4 states and literally 10s of thousands of miles within the last six weeks. Six weeks! I was only actually home for about 3.5 of those weeks. Plus, I was finishing a semester of the DCN program throughout that time, drilling with the Army Reserve, working full-time, momming and wifing. Despite all this mahem, I had time to write a blog; I just didn’t want to do it. We all have to stop hiding behind the “I didn’t have time” excuse. I’ve used it. You’ve used it. And it is a LIE. True, some days are jam-packed with activities and are truly crazy-busy from dawn to dusk. BUT…we make time for stuff we want to make time for. The readers make time to read. The Netflixers make time to binge several shows after winding down for the night. We can even carve out little 5 min chunks during the day to include bits of exercise, to make a grocery list or plan some dinners, etc. We have time for what we want. Readjust how you use it. Stephen Covey has some great resources on this subject if you’re struggling. Since you’re going to say “I don’t have time to read,” (which is BS, and you know it!), you can use the Audible 30-day free trial to download the The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This will help you reallocate your time more effectively.

Let failure be the schoolhouse of life. The only way you truly fail at anything is to fail to recognize the opportunity for some really beautiful learning and growth.